Four Reasons Why Discovery is Critical for Agency/Client Success

One of the most important initial meetings you as a client will have with your marketing communications partner is the “discovery.” Certainly, there could be a lot of meetings that stem from that initial session or series of sessions, but taking this all important first step is critical to be absolutely aligned on the business challenge. 

Discovery can take many forms. It can be a single session that lasts a couple of hours or a couple of days that includes an immersion into your business, locations, customers, product manufacturing, current marketing efforts, trends, challenges, and more. It might also include secondary research or it may require primary research. The discovery could require interviews with key stakeholders and constituents. In whatever form the initial discovery takes, The4Collective has found there are four key outcomes:

Gaining Clarity: Discovery sessions are designed to help you articulate your needs, goals, and pain points. By preparing for and participating in the session, you will better understand what you hope to achieve and how your marketing communications partner can help you. The partner you’ve chosen will be able to organize and guide you through this process.

Scope Alignment: During a discovery session, you and a group like The4Collective can work together to define the scope of the project. This may seem obvious, but many clients (and some marketing teams) don’t align on what the true scope of work is or should be. This step is important to ensure that you understand what you can expect and how much the work may cost.

Building Relationships: More than just information seeking, these sessions are an opportunity for you and your marketing firm to build a strong relationship with each other. It helps establish trust and credibility, which is essential in developing a successful working relationship. It also helps to reduce miscommunication because all key parties are present in the meeting(s) and/or participating in the process, making it easier for company alignment.

Identifying Opportunities: Sometimes, the way to accomplish your goal is not obvious. Or there may be different ways to approach the same challenge depending on the budget and time available. Discovery sessions allow for open and frank conversations that generally lead to new realizations, and should always end with clearly identified opportunities. The information gleaned in these honest discussions can then be used to develop a marketing plan that takes advantage of any opportunity within any budget — whether clearly visible or not.

While each discovery is bespoke to meet the specific needs of each unique client, The4 has created a streamlined program for small to mid-size companies that allows you to see the learnings that come from discovery while also plotting the direction for “what happens after.” It's called The4 MBA - Marketing & Brand Analysis. If you are experiencing one or more challenges, with your company or service and want to explore if The4 can help, reach out and connect. The4 MBA could be a good first step.